Door operating mechanism



Nov. 10, 1931. J. F. OCONNOR noon OPERATING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 16, 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet l fwazfor NOV. 10, 1931. I J O'CONNOR 1,830,956

DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM File Nov- 1.925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .5 F491 m [I M w\w x\\\ Patented Nov. 10, 1931 it UNITED STATES! PATENT o r-Flor;-

JOHN E. OCONNOR, or; CHICAGO, rumors, assieivon ro W; aft/LINER, me, or CHICAGO, rumors, A coarcma'rroiv. o1?- DELAWARE noon cram-Arme- MEoHANisMf Application-filed November 18,1925; 'erial No. 693295;

This invention; relates t'o door operating mechanisms.

Oneobjectofthe invention isto provide a dooroperating-mechanism, including, a shaft rotatably mounted upon the door, said shaft being provided with operating portions p'rojecting beyond. the edges of the door, and adapt'ed'to cooperate with keepers fixed upon the door frame for'eifecting opening, and closing movement of the door through a predetermined distances-ufiicient to clear the in sulation upon theabutting-edges of the door, in conjunction with means for rotating; said shaft for approximately a full revolution to cause movement of the door'through the required predetermined distance, resulting in a reduction of the applied" force necessary to move the door operating mechanism, at a given instant in its operations Other objects and advantages of the invention will more clearly appear from the description and claims hereinafter following:

In the drawings forminga part of this I specification, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of a refrigerator car, showing the doors thereof, and my improvements. in connection therewith. Figure 2 is a broken,,vertical. sectional view of the invention, taken substantially onthe line 2+2: of Figure I, and showing parts of. the mechanism in elevation. Figure 3 is a horizontal partial sec- 'tional view of'the invention on'the line 3- 3 of'Figure 1. Figure 4 is a horizontal, sec.- tiona-I view of the invention taken substantially upon the line 4-4e'0f Figure 2 showing the bottom keepersin top-plan. Figure 5 is afragmentary sectional view of the ope-rating shaft and lever; substantially upon the line 55'of Figure 2, showing; the position of the shaft at the inception of thedoor opening operation. Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure}? showmgthe positlon of the shaft and lever when the same have been rotated hinged refrigerator car doors, the latter being the last'one to be closed, said doors being provided withbeveled Ineetingedges, as

' indicated. atl-2, in the usual manner, and

suitable insulating packings areprovided on said meeting edges and also upon the outer edges of the. doors-and door frame. As is customary, theoperating shaft is mounted on the last door to be closed-that. is, the door The doors. 10

11 in: the structure as shown. and 11. are swingably' supported upon the usual hinge members 13-13.

The improved door operatingmechanism comprises, broadly, a rotatableshaft A; a pair of. mounting brackets B, a pair of actuating gears C-C; a pair of keepers DD; and lever mechanism E for rotating said shaft.

The Operatingshaft A. as shown, comprises a an intermediate connecting bar 14 of rectangularformation, and. end castings 15-45,

the bar 14 having an offset intermediate portron 16., and end members 17-47. Each end casting 15' is forked, as indicated at. 18, to. 'I'GCQIVG the: corresponding end portion 17 of etis preferably of-two-part construction and I located" adjacent theedge ofthe, door, said bracketincluding' an inner section-21-having a halfjournal bearing seat22, and an outer section 23' having a'half iournal seat 24, the

outer section being-provided with flanges-25,

and the two sections being securedto the car door-by suitabl'eboltsQG-QG nassingthrough the flanges25of the outer section and through the body portion of the inner section 21,"as best shown in Figure 3; I :15 outwardly of the related bracket. B is formed with-a collar 27, which hears'against the outeredge of'the bracket, and outwardly of the collaris integrally formed the gear 0. The gear C is preferably .ofatype which has four diametrically opposed teeth or. ribs adapted to. co-operatewith the keepers 'D, as hereinafter more fully described, it being Each-end member fee noted that the gear is proportioned so that a full revolution of the gear is required to traverse the keeper.

Secured to the lintel and threshold of the door frame are the keepers DD hereinbefore referred to, each of which is provided with spaced upstanding walls 28 and 29, and a bottom wall 30, the walls 28, 29 and 30 defining a recess in which the related gear C operates. The walls 28 and 29. at the outer sides thereof, are provided with flanges 31 through which are extended suitable securing bolts 32. the bottom wall forming web portions 33 connecting the walls28 and 29 with the flange portions 31 31. The inner face of the wall 28' is provided with rack teeth or ribs 34 adapted to co-operate with the related gear C, the teeth 34 being four in number and spaced so that slightly more than a full revolution of the gear is necessary to traverse the keeper from the position of the gear indicated in full lines in Figure 4 to the pos tion indicated in dotted lines in sai d figure. the movement of the gear and the length of the rack being so proportioned as to move the door a predetermined required distance to clear the insulation at the door edges when the mechanism is operated. The rack on the wall 28 is disposed upon an arc with the pivotal hinge axis of the door 11 as the center thereof, so as to accommodate the arcuate movement of the swinging edge of the door 11 and facilitate the meshing of the gears C with the racks upon the keepers. I

As before stated, the gears and the keeper racks are so proportioned that a full revolution ofthe shaft is necessary to cause the gear to traverse the full extent of the rack, and so free the gear from the keeper to permit full opening of the door. or, in the closing operation, to insure complete closing movement of the door. this construction having the advantage that the power necessary to operate the shaft at a given instant is reduced. and that the keepers and gears are of minimum size so as to project from the door and car frame a minimum distance. In conjunction with a door operating mechanism of the character specified. it is d esirableto utilize radially movable lever means substantially'similar to those now commonly in use for rotating the shaft in. effecting accomplishment of this result. The shaft A has the intermediateportion thereof offset with respect to the end portions 17 as before referred to, and formed integrally with the intermediate portion 16 of the shaft. adjacent ,thelower end portion 17, is an offset angular branch 5, the outer portion extending substantially'parallel with the offset portion 16 of the shaft, and the portion 36 connecting one end; of the offset with the portion 16 of the shaft. The lever E has a forked end, one forked portion 37 of which extends between the angular portion 35 and the offset body portion 16 of the shaft and the other forked portion 38 of which extends upon the outer side of the angular portion 35, a rivet 39 being extended through the body portion 16 of the shaft, the two forked portions ofthe lever and the angular portion 35 formed on the shaft. This arrangement pivotally connects the lever to the shaft and limits the downward movement thereof, while permitting upward swinging movement of the lever to either side of the shaft in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the offset portion 16, the radial swinging of the lever, of course, imparting rotation to the shaft and the gears 0 applied thereto. T c lever E is provided with an aperture 4O adapted for the reception of the keeper 42 fixed on the door 11, by which the lever may be locked to the door 11 when the mechanism is in closed position, as is the usual practice.

In operation, assuming the parts to be in the position shown in full lines in Figure 1, the lever E is first disconnected fromthelocking means and swung outwardly away from the door, to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, the shaft and gear'sbeing rotated, meshing of the teeth of the gears C and the teeth 34 of the racks, causing approximately one-half revolution of the gear during this movement, and a corresponding opening movement of the door 11. Then :the lever E has reached the position indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1, the same may be swung upwardlyclockwise in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 1, past the shaft, and downwardly into the position which it occupied at the inception of the door opening movement, after which the lever may be again swung radially outwardly from the door to impart another half revolution to the shaft A, or slightly in excess of a half revolution, due to the greater movement of the lever which is permitted when the door is partly open, the final portion of movement of the shaft serving to move the door and' gears C to the position indicated in dotted lines in Figure 1, where'the parts are freed" from the keepers and the door may be swung outwardly to fully open position. In closing the door, the gears are first alined with the keeper recesses, and a reversal 'of the above described movements takes place which effects full closing of the door.

By the above described arrangement, it will beappreciated that the gear ratio is such that a gain in power is efiiected for any given in'- stant for the reason that the movement of the door is only half of that accomplished by a half revolution of the shaft in usual practice, the full predetermined movement-for opening the door so as to free the insulation, being accomplished by a full, or slightly greater than a full, revolutionof the shaft,

the particular lever means associated with the mechanism being so mounted with respect to the shaft as to permit radial movement of the lever to efiect approximately a half revolution of the shaft and the lever then returned to be again radially swung to effect the final revolution of the shaft.

While I have herein shown and described What I now consider the preferred manner of carrying out my invention, the same is merely illustrative and I contemplate all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the claims appended heretol I claim:

1. In a refrigerator car having a pivoted side door, the combination with keepers mounted on said car and being provided with rack portions extending at an angle to the face of said car; of a rotatable shaft mounted on said door," said shaft being provided with gears on its ends projecting outwardly beyond the edges of the door and adapted to cooperate with the racks upon said keepers for effecting opening and closing movements of said door; lever means pivotally connected to said shaft, said lever means being swingable to eith r side of said shaft in a plane substantially parallel to the plane defined by the face of said door, said lever means being swingable in a direction substantially perpendicularto the plane defined by the the face of said door to effect rotation of said shaft to impart the required rotation to said gears.

2. In a refrigerator car door operating mechanism, the combination with a door member; of a hinged door; keeper means sea cured to said door member adjacent the door and having rack portions substantially corresponding in extent to the distance of movement of the door necessary to free the abutting edges thereof; a rotatable shaft mounted on the door and having gear members cooperating with said racks, said gear members and said keeper racks being operatively engaged throughout more than a one half revolution of said shaft, while effecting movement of the door to such an extent only as to free said edges; and means for rotating said shaft through more than a half revolution, said rotating means including a lever swingable about the axis of the shaft to effect rotation thereof, and means movably connecting the lever to the shaft for displacement transversely of the shaf. to dispose the operating end of the lever to one side or the other of said shaft and uniting said lever and shaft for rotation when said lever is swung about the axis of the shaft.

3. In a refrigerator car door operating mechanism, the combination with a door frame member and a cooperating swinging door hinged along one edge; of an operating shaft rotatablv supported on said door adjacent the opposite edge thereof and disposed lengthwise of said edge; keeper means on the door frame; cooperating means on said shaft and keeper means operatively engaged about the axis of rotationof said shaft to effect rotation thereof and being displaceable from one side to the other of said shaft independently of rotation of the latter to provi'de for intermittent successive rotation of said shaft, in either direction to an extent greater than half'a revolution thereof.

4. In arefrigerator car having a pivoted side door, the combination with keepers mounted on said car; of a rotatable shaft mounted.v on the door; means on theshaft operatively engagin with said keepers continuously throughout morethan a rotation of 180 of said shaft for effecting movement of said door; and means for producing rota tion of said shaft through an angle of more thanlSO", including an operating lever shiftable transversely of the shaft to be projected to either side thereof, and held aga nst swing ing movement relative to the shaft about the axis of the same.

5. In a door operating mechanism for cars, the combination with a door frame; of a swinging door cooperating with said frame: a shaft rotatablv mounted on the door: keeper means on the door frame; means on said shaft engaging said keeper means during rotat on of the shaft through more than 180 to effect opening and closing movement of the door; means for rotating said shaft. including an operating lever pivoted on the shaft to swing about an axis transverse of the shaft, the pivoted end portion of said lever being disposed between the shaft and the door when said door is in closed position.

6. In a refrigerator car provided with a door o ening in a wall thereof. the combination with a pivoted door for closing said opening, said door lying substantially in the plane of said wallwhen closed of a rotatable shaft mounted on the door. said shaft having keeper engaging means thereon; keeper means on the wall cooperating with said keeper engaging means to effect opening and closing movements of the door upon rotation of said shaft; means for rotating the shaft, including an operating lever swingable about the axis of the shaft toward and away from said door through an. arc of approximately 180; and means movably connecting the lever to the shaft for displacement from one side of the axis of rotation of the shaft to the other-and continuously locking said lever and shaft together against relative rotation about the axis of the shaft to effect movement of said shaft in unison with the lever when the lever is swung about the axis of the shaft.

7. In "a door'operating'mechwism, the combination with a door member and a pivoted door; of keeper means secured to said door member; of a shaft mounted for-rotation upon said door, said shaft having means 00- acting with said keepers to effect movement of said door upon approximately a complete revolution of said shaft, said shaft being pro vided with an offset portion intermediate its ends, and having an angular extension formed on the inner side of said offset portion and spaced therefrom; and an operating lever having a forked end, one forked portion fitting between the angular member and the offset portion of said shaft, the other forked portion being disposed outside of said angular member; and a pivot pin extending through the offset portion of said shaft, the forked ends of said 'lev r,- and said angular portion.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 13th day of November, 1925.

JOHN F. OCONNO'R. 

